1960 AD to 1969 AD
Events listed relate to Canadian women with a few
extra items added to give the timeline perspective.

This timeline is not all
inclusive.

If you wish more information on the
women listed in this timeline be sure and check the On The Job
pages.

LAST UPDATED Feb 2018

DATES

EVENTS

1960

1960 - Native
peoples living on reserves get the right to vote in federal
elections.

1960 - The Canadian Bill of Rights
become law. It grants the
right to vote to aboriginal women without them losing their ‘Indian
status”. Previously any aboriginal Canadian wishing to have
the right to vote had to give up their ‘Indian Status. ‘

June 7, 1960 - Gladys Muriel Porter
(1894-1967) is the 1st woman elected to the Nova Scotia
Provincial Legislature.

1960 -
Canadian Voice for Women for Peace is founded as a challenge from
Toronto Star columnist Lotta Dempsey.Source: Lisa
Wajna, Great Canadian Women: Nineteen Portraits of Extraordinary
Women (Folklore Publishing, 2005)

1960 - The Ontario Training Schools for Girls ,
established in 1952 for young female offenders under the age of 16
are closed.
December 1960 - Birth control pills are available
for purchase. to the general public

1960 - The 1st self-cleaning oven arrives in the home sales market.
Finally!!!!

1960 - Toronto Policewomen begin wearing wearing derby
style hats to prevent them from being mistaken for airline
stewardesses of Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) guides.Source: Herstory: Milestones in the
History of the Toronto Police Service Women Online Accessed June
2011.

Deaths 1960:
1960 - Died Mary Letitia Lamb (1879- 1960)
missionary to China. April 4, 1960 - Died Marie Rose Delorme-Smith (1861-1960) Métis pioneerApril 25, 1960 - Died
Elizabeth Dafoe (1900-1960) librarian July 1960 - Died Carmen Elizabeth Clarke (1911-1960) in 1949.
Elizabeth became the first woman to write a son that sold over 1,
000,000 copies!
July 10, 1960 - Died Edith Louise Marsh ( ?-1960) historian. July 20, 1960 - Died Maud Leonora Menten (1879-1960) 1st
Canadian woman to receive a medical doctorate in 1911. October 3, 1960 - Died Helena Rose
Gutteridge (1879-1960) first woman elected to Vancouver City Council. November 24, 1960 - Died Olga Alexandrova Kulikovsky,(1882-1960) a
Grand Duchess of the Russian Romanof family she eloped and immigrated
to Canada to live and work as farmers.

1961

February 1, 1961
-
Gladys Porter
(1893-1967)
is the 1st woman elected to the Nova Scotia House of
Assembly

August 12, 1961-
Mary Stewart (1945- )breaks the world record in Women's 100 m
butterfly.

1961 -Women make up about 30% of the Canadian workforce with their pay some
2/3 of that of Canadian men. Source: The Timechart of
History of Canada by Meredith Macardle (2004)

1961 - 25% of Canadian engineers are women: 2.64% of Canadian lawyers
are Women: 4.49% of Canadian dentists are women; 7.33% of Canadian
medical doctors are women. Source: Canadian Chronology
Http://tdi.uregina.ca/~maguirec/chron.html (accessed April 28,
2003)

1961 - 4.6% of Canadian girls graduating high school continue to
university studies. 11.3% of male high school graduates go on to
university studies. Source: Canadian Chronology
Http://tdi.uregina.ca/~maguirec/chron.html (accessed April 28,
2003)

1961 - Pampers disposable diapers become available to
purchase. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas :
women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and
Co., 2002.

Deaths 1961:
February 15, 1961 - DiedEvelyn
Jane Tanner Burns (1890-1961) Politician, and civil servant,
municipal official Rosser Manitoba for 48 years.
April 8, 1961 - Died
Phyllis Dewar(1916-1961), swimmer and member of the Canadian
Sports Hall of Fame.
May 10, 1961 - Died Anne Wilkinson (1890-1961) author, biographer and
poet. July 12, 1961 - Died
Mazo de la Roche , author of the famous Jelna
series. October 9, 1961 - Died Anna
Sprott (1879-1961) founder of West Coast Radio School and Vancouver
alderman. November 6, 1961 - Died Hortense Crompton Gordon (1887-1961)early
Canadian abstract artist
and teacher. December 2, 1961 - Died Lily J. Laverstok (1880 ? -1969) west
coast theatre impresario. December 21, 1961 - Died Hughena
Dickson Elliott McCorquodale (1881-1961) journalist and editor of
the High River Times, Alberta.

1962

January 1, 1962 - The United Church Women (United Church of Canada)
came into being. Its purpose to unite women of the congregation for
the total mission of the United Church and to provide a medium
through which they may express their loyalty and devotion to Jesus
Christ in Christian Witness, study, Fellowship and Service.
Source: Voices of United Church Women 1962-2002.
Edited by Elizabeth Gillian Muir. (Toronto; United Church of Canada,
2002.)

July 28, 1962 - Mary Stewart (1945- ) breaks the
world record in butterfly swimming, a record she will hold through to
August 16, 1963. Source: British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed
June 2008)

1962 - Norah Louise Hughes
(1905-1989) becomes the 1st woman to be
head of a Conference in the United Church of Canada.

September 3, 1962 - The Trans-Canada Highway
opens.

December 5, 1962 - Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain(1924- ) is the 1st woman
appointed to the Quebec provincial cabinet when appointed as
Minister without portfolio.

December 11, 1962 - The last execution in Canada
takes place in Toronto.

1962 - The
drug Thalidomide that caused birth defects in new born babies, is removed from the Canadian market. Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the
Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002.

1963 - CUPE = Canadian Union of Public Employees is
formed with the merger of NUPE = National Union of Public Employees
and NUPSE = National Union of Public Service Employees.

1963 - Fern Alexander of the Toronto Police is the 1st
woman in Canada to be appointed to the rank of Inspector.
Source: Herstory: Milestones in
the History of the Toronto Police Service Women Online Accessed
June 2011.

1963 - Ringette, an on ice women's sport invented in
Canada, is introduced in North Bay Ontario by the town's
Parks and Recreation Director, Sam Jacks. The first-ever- "game" was
played in the winter in Espanola, Ontario. Source:
Ringette Canada.

1964 -
The province of Quebec passes a law to give wives full legal rights
including having joint control with her husband over marital
property and full control over her own property allowing her the
right to make a contract in her own name.

1964 -
The Ontario Female Refugee Act, in effect since 1894 ,allowed an
person to bring before a judge any female under the age of 21 who
was considered ‘unmanageable’ or ‘incorrigible’ ( including unwed
mothers) so that the individual’s fate could be determined. (i.e.
that she should become committed to an institution or not) An
Ontario Grand
Jury was convened to investigate controversial allegations against
the Ontario Mercer Reformatory for Women.

1964 - Jeanne Fisher Manery (1908-1986.) is the 1st woman appointed professor in the
Department of Biochemistry at the University of
Toronto.

1964 - Mary "Bonnie" Baker (1919?-2003)
member of the All American Girls Baseball
League becomes the 1st female sports caster
on CKRM Radio in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Source: Baker, Mary "Bonnie", City of Regina: 2008
www.Regina.ca (accessed September
2008)

1964-1967 -
Pearl Steen
(1893-1988) is president of the National Council of
Women
Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame Online (accessed November 2012.

1964 - Olympic
games women are finally allowed to play team sports when women’s
volley ball, considered a non contact sport is accepted into the
games

1965 - Allene Gorforth(1943- )
becomes the 1st deaf student to graduate a university in Canada.

1965 - The Government of Canada decides to continue to employ women in the
Canadian Armed Forces. A ceiling of 1500 members, including women in
all three services, is established. This limit represents about 1.5%
of the total Canadian Armed Forces of the day. Source
"Women throughout Canadian military history." in Canadian Forces
Personnel Newsletter Issue 2/05 23 February 2005.

1965 - Jocelyn Bourassa (1947-
) wins the Quebec Golf Championship as well as Canadian
Ladies Amateur top title as part of her national and international
golfing career.

1966 -
The declaration of Elimination Discrimination Against Women
is adopted by the United Nations.

1966 -
Limited
career choices sees the number of women in the Canadian military drop
to 900 members in the regular services. .Source: Women in the
Military. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com

1966 - The Ontario provincial government passes legislation
for universal Health Care.
1966 - Jessie
Gray( - 1978) is the 1st woman elected to the Science Council of
Canada.June 6, 1966 -The
Presbyterian Church of Canada agrees to the ordination of women as
elders and ministers.

1966 -
The Canadian government establishes the Canada Pension Plan
which is payable to eligible persons dependant on earning paid to
all Canadians over 65 years of age.

1966 -
There are
only 530 women enlisted in the RCAFSource: A Brief History. RCAF Women. www.rcafwomen.ca
1966 - Dr Marion Powell
(
-1997), helps launch the 1rst municipally
funded birth control clinic in the country.

1966 - Jean Sutherland Boggs (1922-2014)is appointed as Director of the
National Gallery of Canada and becomesthe
1st woman in the world to head up a national art gallery.
Source Canada Women's
Foundation. History of the women's movement: selected moments ofimportance in the history of Canadian women , 2004
http://cdnwomen.org.

1966 - Jean
Edmonds(1921- )is
the 1st woman executive in the federal government as an executive
director with the Department of Manpower and
Immigration.

February 16, 1967 - the Royal Commission on the Status of
Women is created . The commission would produce a report with 167
recommendations relating to such issues as birth control, family law
equal pay and maternity leave.

1967
- Marianne Linnell
(1914-1990) is the only woman member on Canada's Centennial
Committee.
Source: The Vancouver Hall of Fame online (Accessed November
2012)

1967 - The United Nations adopts the Declaration of
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

1967 -Canada's Secretary of
State Judy LaMarsh(1924-1980)
presides over Canada's Centennial events with great flair.

April 25, 1967 - The Canadian Armed Forces unites the
army, air force and navy.

April 27, 1967 - Expo '67 opens in
Montreal.

July 1, 1967 -Canada
Centennial of Confederation is celebrated.
- The Order of Canada is established.

1967 - Mary Elizabeth Kinnear (1898-1991)
is appointed to the Senate of Canada. She retires from the senate in
1973.
Source: Obituary, New York Times, December 28, 1991. ; Senate
of Canada Biographies Online (accessed July 2014)

1967
-Women
who married while they were employed by the New Brunswick provincial
government lost their jobs; some married women could be hired as
casuals but not as permanent employees. Women had to be separated or
divorced or married to an unemployable man before they could be
considered for permanent employment. This was a common practice
among employers. Note that men who married often received a bonus
from their employer.
Source:New
Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Celebrating
Achievers; Behind Every Successful Woman Are All the Women Who Came
Before Her., September 2002. Online (accessed January 2016)

1967 - The village of Tweed, Ontario is the 1st in Canada to have an
all women municipal council.

1967 - Elaine Tanner-Watts(1951- ) is the
1st Canadian woman to win 2 gold and 3 silver medals in swimming at
the Pan-American Games.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia. - online. Information
provided by Thomas Brandenberg.: aquestbeyondgold.ca The Elaine
Tanner-Watt website (Accessed January 2013)

1967 - Joni Mitchel(1943- ) releases her 1st album Song to a seagull.

1967 - The Canadian TV
show , Mr. Dressup is aired for the 1st time. Generations
of children will grow up watching this show. Source :
Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North
by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002.

1967 - Nancy Greene (1943-
), wins the
first woman’s season championship in the World Cup of ski racing. She
wins the final race of the season by seven-hundredths of a second.
source: www.womenwarriors.ca Timeline

1967 -A Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament
is held in Brampton, Ontario, with 22 teams and players ranging in
age from 9 to 50 competing. Sources:
www.femalehockey.ca :
A history of Women's Hockey for Dummies. On line accessed January
2013. 1967 - Canada's Women's Basketball team wins is 1st medal, a bronze.

1967 -Pat Messner (1954-
) earns the Ontario Centennial Sports Achievement Award. Pat
is an Nation, international and Olympic medalist in water skiing.

1968 - The Olympic Committee conducts gender tests for the first
time in internationals sports at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble,
France. Source
www.womenwarriors.ca timeline.

February 17, 1968 - Nancy Greene (1943-
) wins gold medal
in the giant slalom at the the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble,
France.

March 26, 1968 - Nancy Greene (1943-
) world winning skier announces her retirement from
competition.
1968 - Sandra Post (1948- )beats Kathy Whitworth by seven strokes in a
playoff to become the first non-US player and
rookie to win the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
Championship. Source www.womenwarriors.catimeline

1968 - The Canadian Association of
Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is
conceived and was incorporated as a voluntary non-profit
organization in 1978. By 2000 there are 22 member societies across
Canada.

1968 - Canadian divorce laws are
reformed allowing for divorce on the basis of marital breakdown as
well as for adultery and mental or physical cruelty.

1968 -The Royal Commission on the Status of Women begins.

1968 - Elaine Tanner-Watts(1951-
) becomes the 1st Canadian women to win an Olympic Medal in
swimming bringing home two silver and one Bronze medal.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia. - online. Information
provided by Thomas Brandenberg.: aquestbeyondgold.ca The Elaine
Tanner-Watt website (Accessed January 2013)

1968 - Bea Irwin,previously a partner in her husbands toy
business, takes over the business when her husband dies.
Source: I Know that name: the people behind Canada's
Best known Band Names...by Mark Kearney and Randy Ray (Toronto,
Hounslow Book, 2002.

1968 - Michaelle Jean, (1957- ),a future
Governor General of Canada, emigrates to Canada with her family from
Haiti Source: web pages of the Governor General of
Canada. www.gg.ca (accessed March 2007)
.

1969 -
The Federal government amends the Criminal Code
of Canada so that it is no longer an offence to disseminate
information on birth control. 1969 -
The Canadian Criminal Code is amended so that the same sex sexual acts
between consenting adults are no longer criminal.
1969 -
36% of the students attending undergraduate studies at university are
women. Source: Canadian Chronology
Http://tdi.uregina.ca/~maguirec/chron.html (accessed April 28,
2003)
May 1969 - Toronto Police Commission Chairman, C.O. Bick
states that, although there is no rule, he feels that "The woman's
place is in the home with her child.". A woman is refused employment
on the grounds that she has young children.Source: Herstory: Milestones in the
History of the Toronto Police Service Women Online Accessed June
2011.
1969 -
Dorothy
Lidstone(1938- ) is 1st Canadian to win
a World Target Archery
Championships in Valley Forge,
U.S.A. Source: Federation of Canadian Archers.

August 9, 1969 -
The Government of Saskatchewan names four small islands in the
North Saskatchewan River, near North Battleford, for
Onésime Dorval (1845-1932) the 1st certified teacher in Red
River territory.
Source: Dorval, Onésime (1845-1932) Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
Online (Accessed May 2014)

1969 -
Canadian Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Union is formed to oversee
events and sanction national championships. This group merged with
the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union in 1978.

1969 - Debbie Brill (1953- ) is the 1st North American woman to clear 6' in the high jump.
Source: British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed March
2014)

1969 - Margaret Atwood (1939- ) publishes her 1st novel Edible woman.

1969 -
Access to abortion is applied unevenly and often unfairly across the
country. Women can wait an average of 8 weeks for an abortion. Some
provinces refuse to provide any abortion services at all and abortion
is largely unavailable to women outside major cities.
Source : A History of abortion in Canada.
http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/history.html
(accessed July 30, 2003)

1969
- The
Ontario Mercer Reformatory for Girls, originally opened in 1872 is
closed after controversial allegations of torture, beatings and
experimental drugs and medical procedures were investigated.

Deaths 1969:
1969 -
Died Elizabeth Rebecca Laird (1874-1969), a
Physics teacher & college administrator. who after she retired she
became a researcher.May 5, 1969 - Died
Sara Corning (1872-1969) a nurse and
heroine who save 5000 Armenian children in 1922. July 23, 1969 - Died
Ada Jane Fairlina Kent (1888-1969) musician
and composer.
November 4, 1969 - Died Violet Alice Dryvynsyde (1888-1969) An
educator who opened her own school and published books.
November 19, 1969 - DiedVera Cryderman (1897-1969) an artist who
worked in several medium helped establish Visual Arts in colleges. December 21, 1969 - Died Ellen Ballon (1898-1969) child prodigy and
internationally renowned pianist.